Ross Brown, Contract Manager at Opportunity Sheffield, welcomed guests to the Summer Teacake Club meeting, hosted by Sheffield Futures at Star House, on Friday 14 July.
Speakers
Karen Challis - About Sheffield Futures
Karen welcomed everyone to Star House and noted that they had not seen so many people in the building since before the Covid pandemic. Sheffield Futures was established in 1995 and has continuously responded to the needs of young people in the city. Karen spoke about the range of activity that Sheffield Futures undertakes, such as youth work, wellbeing cafes and social prescribing work with GP's. We heard about the number of young people who are experiencing mental health challenges, and initiatives like Door 43 which offer a space for young people to go and be supported free from any stigma. Karen spoke about the success of Sheffield Futures' work with care leavers, building on it's Project Apollo programme, and the desire to work with as many partners as possible. Current partners within Star House are PET-Xi, SATiT, Suit Works, Street League and The Growth Company.
We also heard briefly from Sam Headford, a new trustee for Suit Works, and watched a short video to show some of the good work that Suit Works do.
Tim Jeffrey (partnership & integration manager), The Growth Company - Refugee Employability Programme
Tim explained that The Growth Company has been supporting people into sustainable employment for the past 10 years, and has been working with refugees since 2015 via the Northern Refugee Centre. Since 2022, The Growth Company has been supporting Ukrainian refugees with the help of Ukrainian speaking support workers. We heard that The Growth Company has recently been awarded a contract to run the Refugee Employability Programme which will run for 2 years across the whole of the Yorkshire and Humber region. Tim was keen to clarify that The Growth Company is not looking to take away from existing provision for refugees, but instead to compliment and support it.
The programme will support refugees with employability, including ESOL, community integration and helping them to feel part of the city. There will also be a large portion of keyworkers who will be speakers of the most common foreign languages, with lived experience wherever possible. The Growth Company is looking to support 1,800 individuals across Yorkshire and Humber throughout the 2 year period; there is a set of eligibility criteria which can be found in the slides.
Emma Taylor (COL response hub co-ordinator), Sheffield City Council - current activity from the Cost of Living Hubs
Emma explained that there is support available for individuals via the Cost of Living fund, which the hubs want to encourage people to access if they are facing hardship. Emma explained that the criteria for qualifying for the fund is based on evidence of hardship, for example, little to no savings, little money in the bank, debt or arrears. Emma stressed that those who are currently in employment and/or are homeowners may still be eligible, and that eligibility for accessing the fund is not based on whether somebody is unemployed or not. We heard about the number of young people contacting the Cost of Living hub for support due to stress that they are on the way to being in a difficult financial situation.
£15M of the fund has been provided to date, for both individuals and businesses. We heard about the geographical difference in those who are typically accessing the fund, and the number of enquiries the hub receives about benefit maximisation (something that Citizens Advice can also help with). Part of the strategy for maximising the effectiveness of the hub is partnership, so Emma encouraged anybody who thinks their organisation may benefit from being involved to get in touch.
There is a partnership event aimed at young people for managing the cost of living taking place on 10 August at Star House: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/managing-the-cost-of-living-tickets-675108316147
Paul Brook (partnership manager), DWP - overview of DWP's delivery plan
Paul took us through the recently published Department for Work and Pensions Outcome Delivery Plan for 2023-2025. The summary is available in the resources section, but the headlines from the plan are:
- Maximise employment, reduce economic inactivity and support the progression of those in work.
- Deliver financial support to people who are entitled to it.
- Enable disabled people, and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work, and get financial support.
- Support financial resilience in later life.
Luiz Faye (founder and coach), Kronik Warriors - Snack-Box programme
Luiz introduced herself as the founder and lead coach of Kronik Warriors, the only national government affiliated adaptive boxing academy in the country. Luiz explained that the benefits that boxing can have on an individual go beyond the physical contact we usually associate the sport with. She spoke about the resilience, discipline, self care and self esteem that boxing can build and how this can transfer into the daily lives of individuals. Kronik Warriors is run by people with disabilities and long term health conditions.
We heard about the Snapbox programme, designed to introduce people to boxing as well as healthy lifestyle choices. Kronik Warriors work with local food providers Snaptin, based at Goldthrope in Rotherham, to provide food for participants to eat after each boxing session of the programme. They talk about the macros of the food, it's nutritional value and the benefit to fuelling their bodies healthily. We also heard about the superfood challenge as part of the programme, which challenges participants to get creative with a different superfood each week, and explore foods that they may never have before. Over the 8 weeks, individuals begin to apply lessons they have learned to their daily lives.
Michael Draffan (employability lead), Integrated Care Board - NHS employability programmes
Michael spoke about the work that he is currently leading on to improve and innovate on routes into NHS employment. Michael explained that traditional recruitment methods too often mean that employers miss out on talent because the process is inaccessible for many individuals. Through this acknowledgement, Michael has been working with partner organisations to identify how they can improve recruitment for target groups of individuals.
We heard about the success of a recent employability day that Michael partnered with VAS's refugee and asylum seeker project on, to provide interviews for 23 individuals without the need to application forms, which saw 16 people go on to secure a job outcome.
We heard about partnerships with The Growth Company, Prince's Trust and Employment is for Everyone, and Michael's interest in ringfencing roles for specific cohorts of individuals. There has also been some work done to look at how the NHS adjust the interview process for those with SEND backgrounds, and moving from a competency based interview to a values based one. Michael encouraged anybody who feels their organisation has clients who would benefit from these recruitment sessions to get in touch.
Robert Whittaker (route into employment team), The Sheffield College - current and upcoming adult provision
Robert told us that the adult provision at The Sheffield College (ESOL, English & maths, anything else that adult learners might engage with) is going to be getting it's own section on the website to make this easier to navigate. Robert gave some updates on adult provision at The Sheffield College, with some of it seeing some changes:
- ESOL programme - applications will be opening at the end of July for main ESOL classes.
- English and maths provision - this is being relaunched and paired down to a 4 week programme (for both English and maths, as well as IT). Those who are assessed as being at a lower level will need to be referred to other organisations providing basic level English, maths and IT provision. Rob was keen to speak to anybody who provides these.
- Security guard course - moving to Hillsborough campus.
- Courses for taxi driving - 5 day course and doesn't expire, so suitable for anybody who thinks this may be something they want to do in the future.
- Health and social care - there are a series of dates for SWAPs coming up. The Sheffield College are also looking at running a series of short, 5 day courses aligned with SYMCA's main sectors that they want to improve recruitment into.
Adam Siu (specialist physiotherapist), Down2U Physiotherapy - The Pain and Work programme
Adam explained that his recently delivered Pain and Work programme focussed on helping those who experience chronic pain as a barrier to employment, and supporting them through movement to get to a place physically where they feel they are able to regain control of their daily activity. Adam explained that the programme builds on movement commonly found in the workplace (e.g. lifting, twisting, bending) and he shared some of the successes of those on programme, such as increase in weights lifted, carried and rotational movement.
We heard from two participants of the Pain and Work programme. The first participant explained how she had suffered with back pain since the age of 18 and this had restricted her ability to undertake basic tasks. We heard about how difficult she found it to start the course, but that Down2U allowed her to do things she never thought she could do. She can now do housework, walk the dog, be more social and she is no longer reliant on pain medication. We heard from a second participant who had experienced some major falls onto a roof , leaving him with injuries and a fear of being hurt. He told us that Down2U helped him to reset and re-engage with his life. He consequently now has 2 job interviews and has been able to move out of a house with damp into somewhere he can be happy to call home.
Harry Clarkson & Jodie Bradley (co-founders), Employment is for Everyone - introduction into what EIFE do
Harry and Jodie explained that Employment is for Everyone is a relatively new venture, launched in 2022, and has been created to be a social movement for those with learning difficulties and autism. The goal is to bring together relevant employment partners from across South Yorkshire and provide support resources, including information, case studies and videos, that is co-produced with experts with relevant experience.
Employment is for Everyone are not aiming to replace anything the already exists, and do not provide 1:1 support to individuals. Instead, the goal is the provide as much signposting as possible to important information or support, and to partner with as many organisations as possible to provide support in recruiting those with LD and/or autism.
We heard about how EIFE work with employers to encourage them to think outside of the box when it comes to recruitment. They worked recently with a global business to run a taster day on site for applicants with LD and autism which allowed individuals to have conversations with staff and experience the environment. As a result, one of those individuals was asked to return on work experience, where they gave advice about how the companies IT systems could be improved and was subsequently offered full time employment.
In Brief:
Roger Cheetham (co-founder), Surive, Strive, Thrive - Survive, Strive, Thrive work with young people aged 11-25 to help them increase resilience, self confidence and raise their aspirations. Due to his own experiences, Roger is passionate about helping young people turn their negatives into positives. The organisation work with organisations such as secondary schools, colleges, Rush House and Roundabout.
Resources:
Teacake Club slides
DWP delivery plan summary
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